Faces From the Too-Recent Past
by Cececat
Summary: Just as Brad & Janet are finished recovering from That Night, a certain groupie appears on their doorstep. Will this turn out to be a good thing? Maybe... [Older story reposted, hopefully it's good] (Please Read/Review!)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. Still. **

**A/N: Okay... so I'm starting another story. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it and hopefully it's good.**

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After that very odd night in November, Brad and Janet were eager to get back to 'normality'. It wouldn't do for them to dwell on it all. Or even try to understand it.

No, they just needed to move on.

Just after Christmas Janet moved out of her flat and into Brad's house. This wasn't wrong in any way. Quite the contrary. Mr. and Mrs. Weiss had been wondering when their daughter would realize that unmarried couples living together wasn't scandalous. It hadn't been in decades.

She still slept in the guest room, of course.

They weren't to get married until at least a few months acted their engagement. After a while they choose August.

Unlike Ralph and Betty, they didn't invite many people. Just their parents, Ralph, Betty, Janet's older sister Emily, her niece Fay Gallagher, and Brad's younger sister Millie. The ceremony was simple and the reception nonexistent.

Less than a month after the wedding a familiar person appeared at the door. It happened to be a dark and ominously stormy night.

Since it was a rainy Friday, they'd spent day watching films. Everything seemed to be going quite well... until, around eight, the doorbell rang.

Janet answered it.

There stood a slight young woman with pale skin and a worried expression upon her impish face. She wore dark leather jacket quite a few sizes too large, to make matters odder. Beneath that seemed to be a black dress of some sort. And trousers that clearly weren't made for a half-starved teenage girl.

Of course they didn't recognize her!

"Er, who-"

"Janet Weiss, right?" the girl replied.

Janet blinked. "It's Majors now. How did you know that?"

"Mrs. Majors... it's me, Columbia. Ever since they released me from the hospital I've been searching everywhere for you or some other ally!"

"I think you'd better, er, come inside. It's raining, as you've probably noticed. And we really need to talk, I think," Janet replied awkwardly.

Though she didn't remember the name Columbia, she thought the girl might be some there That Night. They'd all pretended it was an embarrassing dream for so long that many details were quite hazy. Nobody wanted to think about it.

Janet led the girl into the living room. At that point, Brad still sat on the couch watching the last of the film they'd watched.

"Brad?" Janet said, clearing her throat.

He turned around. Right away he noticed Columbia.

"What's going on? Who's she?" he asked.

"I'm Columbia. Frank's tap dancing groupie?"

"Your hair isn't pink anymore."

"I've noticed," she muttered.

"What are you doing here?" Brad asked.

"It's a long story," she replied. "And I'll only tell it if you swear to listen. I need help."

"Sit down on the couch, I'll make some tea, and you can explain everything," Janet said kindly.

"Okay," Columbia said.

Once the kettle was on to boil, Janet returned to the living room. By then the TV had been turned off and Columbia was sitting down on one of the two couches.

"Start with what happened when we first saw you," Janet said.

Columbia sighed wearily. "Okay, then... _After Riff shot me with his stupid gun I passed out. I'm actually not sure how long I was out, since I don't know what time it happened to be._

 _When I woke up, I wasn't anywhere near the castle. Somebody - I'm still not sure who - called an ambulance and took me to a local hospital._

 _I wasn't really injured in any specific way, according to the nurse._

 _"You're a bit dehydrated and you've got quite a few minor things. Must've been some party," she told me with an awkward chuckle._

 _"Hmm," I replied._

 _"Anyway, I'm supposed to ask about your medical history and personal information," the nurse said._

 _After pausing for a moment, she continued. "What's you're full name and date of birth?"_

 _I wasn't sure what to say to that. Since I still wasn't thinking straight, I told her the truth._

 _"Laura Eleanor Trent. May 24, 1956."_

 _This seemed to surprise her. "Really? My, we guessed that you were 16. You're about average in most ways for a sixteen year old... but you wouldn't lie to us about age - would you?" she asked._

 _"I don't know... it's all a bit fuzzy still," I replied._

 _"Oh, you poor dear. Well... after a few more questions you can rest."_

 _"'Kay."_

 _"So... any serious illnesses in the past five years?_

 _"No."_

 _"Pregnancies?"_

 _"Yes. When I was 15 I had a son named Pip."_

 _The nurse raised an eyebrow. "Well, er, then... any history of terminal diseases in the family?"_

 _"Not sure. I don't think so."_

 _"Heart problems in your family?"_

 _"I don't think so."_

 _"Psychiatric problems in your family?"_

 _"Well, my older sister has severe mood swings and issues with lack of empathy," I told her, blushing._

 _The nurse didn't seem too bothered. "Right! That's all for now."_

 _After that, she left. Understanding I was very tired. So, then, I rested for a while. Only a little while later they woke me up again. Apparently they thought I must've mixed up the year or something. I let them believe it._

 _Somehow I'd bruised a rib and sprained my ankle when the laser hit me. There wasn't any physical evidence of the laser, so they all just thought I'd fallen._

 _The doctors also soon figured out that I'd done drugs in the past. Of course, I hadn't really done much and never actually got addicted._

 _I spent a while in the hospital recovering. Soon enough I became rather depressed. The memory of Eddie's death still was too fresh in my mind. After a failed suicide attempt they sent me to the psych ward. That wasn't too bad._

 _After five months in that stupid hospital - three in a regular ward, two in psych - I sold my costume at a consignment shop. There I earned enough to stay in a local hotel for a while. That went nicely enough. I even got a job in a local cafe. Alas, I got fired from that job after about four months._

 _Once I left, I couldn't think of anyone to go to. It was mid-August by then. Then, I remembered my sister Nell. Not only would I be able to see my son if I visited her, but I'd also get somewhere to stay... or so I thought._

 _Nell really wasn't at all pleased to see me._

 _"I raised your stupid son by hand, Laura Trent. He isn't even your son because of all the work I put into raising him by hand," she told me coldly._

 _"Look, it's not even about him! I'm homeless, Nell. Look... Eddie is dead, Frank is dead - and neither of them left anything to me! Eddie didn't actually have anything to leave to me and Frank didn't care enough. Basically, I'm a widow. All I have left is Pip. And, I suppose, my heartless sister who won't help me," I ranted._

 _"Yes, the sister who you dumped an illegitimate child on four years ago. The sister who you embarrassed by dating that punk Eddie," she replied coldly._

 _That's when I heard her husband Gregory shout "I'm home!"_

 _"Go, Laura. Leave," Nell hissed._

 _And I did._

 _That's when I started to really worry. By then I seriously didn't have anyone to go to. It was bad enough that I happened to be an 18-year-old in a 16-year-old body. That's when I began to think of people to turn to. Dr. Scott slammed the door in my face, I couldn't contact Magenta... and then I remembered you guys._

 _..._ I've spent the last week or going door to door looking for you. It's lucky that you live in this town!"

By the time Columbia had finished explaining, tears were welling in Janet's eyes. Brad also looked sympathetic.

"We'll help," Janet said. "Honey, I'm sorry about all this. We'll help."

To Janet's surprise, Columbia hugged her. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Majors!"

"Call me Janet."

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 **A/N: This takes place in an alternate version of the 'universe' _A Sci-Fi Fan's Adventure_ takes place in. That's mostly just because I wanted to reuse some characters. It doesn't really matter. For those who've read ASFFA, it's just a world in which Fay never ended up staying at her Aunt's house. **

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_**

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 **A/N: Hopefully this isn't too awful. I've got a few different ideas for what to do next with this story. Of course, those ideas mostly rely on the idea of Brad secretly being a pretty intense science fiction geek. I just think that'd be quite amusing. He _looks_ like the stereotypical idea of a perfectly mainstream All-American guy. That's why I've decided that his secret vice is being a fanboy of comics, _S_ _tar Trek,_ etc. **

**And, yes, all the _Star Trek_ stuff he says in this chapter is really stuff from the _Star Trek_ 'verse. **

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For the first time they'd need to use the guest room for something other than a storage space. It annoyed Brad that Columbia had shown up at such short notice. And now Janet was making such a big deal out of everything.

Even Columbia seemed to agree. "I don't need too much. Actually, you can let me sleep on the couch. Mrs. Majors-"

"It's fine, Columbia," Janet replied.

She'd gone through all the linen closets to find fresh sheets. This was mainly because she couldn't remember if she'd changed the sheets since she'd last slept there. Of course, this didn't really matter to Columbia. The sheets at the castle hadn't ever been changed as far as she could remember. And she hadn't had a proper blanket there.

"Thank you so much," Columbia said, most sincerely.

Then, she shut the door.

Brad and Janet stood in the hallway for a moment. Neither really knew what to do. For one thing, Janet still hadn't figured out why she'd made such a fuss. Now it all seemed quite silly.

"It's time for _us_ to go to bed now," Brad told Janet, not realizing how suggestive that sounded.

"Right," Janet muttered.

So they went to their room.

Being the insanely prudish couple they were, they slept in twin beds. Like a couple on TV when censorship was much more strict.

Most of the old-fashioned stuff they did was to avoid being like the peculiar inhabitants of the castle. Though their friends mocked them sometimes, it was better than being shunned for acting like that awful Frank and his cronies.

So they both got dressed and got into their own bed. Janet turned all the lights off except for one. That happened to be a lamp on her bedside table. She usually left that on for a while so that they could both read. That night, only she read. He just sat there lost in thought.

Brad wasn't sure what to think of the fact that one of Frank's minions now slept in his guest room. At least her hair wasn't pink anymore. No respectable person had pink hair! That's when he remembered the party they'd been invited to the next day.

"Dammit!"

"What's wrong, Brad?" Janet asked.

"Ralph and Betty invited us to a party, didn't they? It's tomorrow."

Janet nodded. "That's right."

"What will we do about Columbia?"

"Take her along. She's no worse than that wretched niece of mine," Janet replied.

At the mention of Janet's niece Brad frowned. Though she was a bit bratty, Fay wasn't actually a troublemaker. And she shared Brad's love of Speculative Fiction. Though Janet was a bit more open minded these days he still hasn't told her about the comic book stash in the basement. Fay knew about that, and had sworn not to tell. In return he covered for her when it came to sneaking books by Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke into places.

"Good night, Brad," Janet said, turning off the lamp.

"Good night, Janet."

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They next day, Columbia almost screamed. She'd forgotten where she was!

After staring at the ceiling for a while she remembered. Ah, yes. Brad and Janet's house.

The bright light shining in her eyes was the sunlight streaming through the window. And the mattress she slept on was too soft to belong to that awful hospital. The clean white sheets were too soft to be from there, too.

"This is what safety feels like," she muttered to herself.

No need to worry about anyone chasing after her, no nightmares. Everything would be okay for at least a little while.

After a moment of sitting there she sat up. Time to get up and see how far their hospitality extends. Hopefully they would at least have cereal or something she could eat.

As she sat up she realized that she still wore yesterday's outfit. She only had about two outfits to begin with. The other clothes she'd bought while working at that café had gone right back to the consignment shop. Of course, that hadn't been much in the first place.

So, she went though her satchel to find her something to wear. That oversized leather jacket kept people from noticing the bag she'd carried everywhere. Hopefully things would stabilize for good and she wouldn't need to wander around aimlessly carrying only one change of clothes.

After finding the outfit she quickly changed.

Then she spotted her reflection in a nearby full length mirror. Ew, when had she last washed her hair? And the clothes weren't even very clean. Hopefully she could borrow something from Janet later.

Columbia managed to tear her eyes away from the mirror and focus on a different task. Time to go look for breakfast.

Food. That's what she needed first!

As she walked down the hall and the stairs, she realized something. At the castle she'd paid for her presence. Sex in exchange for bed and board. How would she pay Brad and Janet? There surely _was_ something she could do. Maybe cook?

"What're you doing?" asked a voice.

Columbia turned around to see Brad standing nearby. He'd already gotten dressed for the day by then. To her surprise, he wore khakis and a shirt with the mystical words 'live long and prosper' written on it. She'd expected him to wear something nicer - even on a Saturday.

"I'm looking for breakfast," she told him.

"Ah. I'd better show you to the kitchen then," he replied.

She follows him to another room. Down a hall and through the living room. Soon enough, they'd found themselves in the kitchen.

"There's eggs in the fridge and-" he paused suddenly, as if changing his mind. "I'll get everything out."

To Columbia's surprise, he then began to make scrambled eggs with bacon.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked.

"I still don't really trust you," he replied. "And I'm not helping. I'm supervising."

She giggled. Of course, that annoyed him and made matters more awkward.

"What's with your shirt?" Columbia asked, trying to change the subject.

"It's a Vulcan thing. Don't bother asking," Brad replied darkly.

Columbia raised an eyebrow (they'd grown back by then). "Vulcan?"

"A species of alien invented by Gene Roddenberry for his TV show Star Trek. They're really into logic and meditation because they're naturally very aggressive. They train in the practices of logic from a young age, and are known to be very intelligent. They're also similar enough to humans to interbreed, hence the existence of Spock. He's half-Vulcan."

"You wish you were one, don't you?" Columbia asked.

"Not really. I don't want to have to deal with Pon Farr," Brad replied thoughtfully.

"What's that?"

He blushed. "You don't want to know. There's a reason Vulcan's don't talk about it with other species. I'm not going to explain it!"

"But you're not a Vulcan."

"Yes, I know. I haven't got the ears for it. Anyway... breakfast is ready," he told her, clearly trying to change the subject.

Rolling her eyes, she sat down at the table. As they began to eat she began to ask serious questions.

"Why don't you trust me?"

"You're one of his people. Janet and I have tried very hard to distance ourselves from... him. We just want to be ordinary. And then you just appear out of nowhere. _You_ , one of the people living with him. His fangirl or whatever. Though you haven't done anything directly, the association with _him_ is bad enough," he explained.

"Fair enough. I hardly know you guys!"

Now Brad was getting annoyed again. "I've noticed. In fact, I didn't even now your name until yesterday. I don't get why Janet's so excited about helping you. I suppose it's just like that charity thing she-"

"Look, I'm not trying to cause trouble," Columbia said, interrupting him. "I just was running out of people to go to and remembered you two."

"Next time, remember somebody else."

Then, he finished eating his share and left the room. Columbia realized that she really couldn't blame him. She's need to do something in return for what Janet was doing.

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